Riot might be teasing a new champion

Riot’s been on a champion overload this year. They’ve already released 5 champions and overhauled Gangplank. Now, it seems that Riot is teasing a new champion for League of Legends, and the concept might’ve come from a fan of the game.

The reason for the intrigue is due to an icon that’s been showing up on top of people’s heads, a concept champion submitted by a fan of the game, and some new files added in the game’s latest update. About three months ago, user RakoonJesus posted this post in Riot’s forums. The post showed detailed animations, drawing, and concepts for a new champion he designed called “Dhama, the Force of Balance.” While he didn’t have any skills or passive abilities created yet, the community was excited over the concept. Then, in an edit, RakoonJesus mentioned that the project had the “nail in the coffin.”

Three months later we’ve been seeing some interesting stuff happening in-game. It started in League’s public beta and later cropped up in official server games in NA and EU. Players began noticing this symbol appear every now and then when they’d kill someone. The picture directly correlates to the concept champion from the forum post.

The picture has also been found in the League data files, meaning that a release of some sorts is in the works. Riot has revealed no information about the champion or the symbols appearing over player’s heads. What do you think the symbols are for? Do you think we’ll have a sixth champion released this year? Or could this be something different?